Lifelong
by Sun-Surf-Soul
Summary: Sammy's going through a rough time, then is abandoned. How will her best friend help?
1. The beginning

Lifelong

_Chapter 1: The beginning_

"OH. MY. GOSH." exclaimed Sky at the sight that overpowered all her senses, "Um, Sammy, remind me what we're doing here again?"

"Wow. Have you forgotten already? We got invited to this party by Josh." replied Sammy as fear, excitement and bewilderment took over her thinking ability.

"OK. What are we going to do though? I mean, I can barely move!" Sky yelled over the music that made her head feel as though it were about to explode. _Sky's right_, thought Sammy to herself, although now, even thinking was becoming difficult. Sammy gave out a small yelp as they were forced through the door by drunken, shirtless teenagers. Sammy looked over to her friend, but only to see her gawking at the amount of sweaty bodies and beer bottles being thrown dangerously around the room.

"I think we better leave..." yelled Sky as she turned around cautiously to wrestle through the doorway.

"Oh no, you don't! You are staying right here with me until this party is declared over! There's Josh. I'm going to go dance!" replied Sammy. _So much for not leaving each other's sides_, thought Sky as she pushed her way through the crowd to the kitchen/bar. Compared to Sky, Sammy was having a wonderful time, getting drunk and dancing with Josh.

"Thanks so much for inviting me and Sky. She's a bit quiet but she's OK once you get to know her. I promise." Sammy slurred as Josh twirled her around with his hand.

"That's OK. It wouldn't be the same without you. Come on. I want to show you something, somewhere quieter." replied Josh, also slurring a great deal. As Sky sadly watched her friend being led by her boyfriend upstairs, her jealousy quickly turned to fear and her veins were filled with adrenalin as she heard the unmistakeable sound of police sirens just outside. She could hear the sound of running and screaming as she searched for the back door. Just as she realised that she was being closely followed by a police officer heavily armed, she pounced at the door and ran out into the front yard where other teenagers were being arrested and shoved into the police cars. She ran all the way out to Miles road, about a kilometre away from Josh's house and 5 kilometres from her house. _I just hope that Sammy's OK, t_hought Sky. Her caring thought quickly turned to dread as she realised that it was probably way past 11, her curfew. Even though she was 17, and was perfectly capable to make her own decisions, her mother would still wait by the phone every night she was out, and she would never fail to tell her daughter this when she arrived home. Sky walked home with a heavy heart. Even though she hated her mother, a part of her always felt guilty when she caused such worry in her. This thought made her walk even slower, when she should've been sprinting for dear life.

...

When she eventually reached her beautiful white Victorian house, a half smile crept onto her face. When she noticed that her mother had been gardening that day, she held onto the slim hope that maybe her mother would be in an OK mood. Wrong. Deadly wrong. She definitely wasn't in a better mood. In fact, she realised she was probably angrier than when Sky had to break the news to her that she had let pieces of newspaper go up the exhaust fan during her ITD class, resulting in a replacement that cost $40 000. When she had told her that, she looked like she was about to have a stroke, but now... Now, she looked like she was going to drop dead.

"Sky Crystal Kipriano! Where have you been? It's now 3 o'clock in the morning! I've been worried sick!" bellowed her mum in such a voice that probably woke up the whole neighbourhood.

"I know Mum. _I've been worried sick! I waited by the phone for hours! I was going to call the police! You know what time your curfew is, its 11 o'clock not 4 in the morning!" _said Sky in a mocking voice that was meant to replicate her mothers. Now she had done it. Now she had pushed her mother's buttons too far, and now she's stuck on overdrive.

"GO TO YOUR ROOM! YOU ARE GROUNDED FOR 2 MONTHS! NO PARTIES, NO SLEEPOVERS, NO ASSOCIATION WHAT SO EVER. NO COMPUTER, TV OR... OR... PHONE!" screamed her mum. Even though she was standing a metre away from her mum, she could feel her breath on her face and she could tell what she had eaten for dinner ten hours ago.

"Whatever." Said Sky as she tried to act coolly and tried to hide her anger to avoid another 2 months punishment. She turned and stormed up the stairs two at a time to her room. The only exchange between them was the slamming of Sky's door, just to prove how angry she was.


	2. Zeke

_Chapter 2: Zeke _

_There he was, riding inside the barrel of an 8 footer. He smiled and waved to Sky as he gracefully glided over the glistening water. She was day dreaming when he got back to shore and a person talking to her snapped her out of it. "It's your turn." said the voice. When there was no reply, he repeated himself. "Oh, right. Sorry." said Sky, as she felt her cheeks turn red. Zeke chuckled to himself as Sky ran with her board out to the ocean, occasionally tripping over the odd stick. As she dreamt about Zeke, she quickly realised that a big wave was coming towards her. She clumsily started paddling again and made her way out to where the wave was about to break. She jumped up and rode the barrel all the way through. "Perfect..." muttered Zeke. When she emerged from the other side of the wave, she too smiled and waved to Zeke, but, there was no Zeke. He was gone. Vanished from her life forever. She never even got to say goodbye. _

Sky sat up in bed drenched in sweat. Even though Zeke got killed over a year ago, she never fully recovered. Zeke was killed in a car accident when he was replying to a text that Sky sent to him. They had just had an argument and Sky was apologizing for the way she had acted. She never heard back from him. As she was trying to stop the replaying of the dream that had happened every night since the accident, the phone rang.

"Oh great." muttered Sky as she hesitantly picked up the phone. "Hello? Sky speaking." said Sky in a rehearsed voice.

"Hey Sky. It's Sammy."

"Oh hey! What's up?" Noticing her breathlessness, Sammy replied:

"Nothing much. The usual. Have you had _the _dream?" They never talked about it much anymore. They were both too traumatised, and they both had different variations of the dream but it still occurred every night.

"Yep. The same one for the past year. So why did you really call?"

"I was just calling to ask if you were able to come over for a sleepover. Your punishment is over, isn't it? I need to tell you something." replied Sammy.

"Oh, yeah, it's over. What time?"

"Um, let's say 4. Make sure you bring your bikinis. We'll try to go swimming tomorrow."

"Ok cool. What's this 'all-important-news'?" said Sky curiously.

"It's... It's nothing. I'll tell you later." stumbled Sammy. She never was very good at keeping secrets.

"No! Tell me n..."

Sammy laughed as she cut off her friend by hanging up the phone. Sammy glanced around the room. _Damn, needs cleaning_, she thought to herself._ She'll be here in an hour. I better start._


	3. Newsflash

Chapter 3: Newsflash

As Sky walked up the path to her best friend's house, she felt a pang of pity and guilt. Her friend lived in a complex of grey, hideous apartment blocks that were guarded by high fences with barbed wire up the top, not that she lived in a prison or anything. While she was lounging around in her 5 bedroom house that had a pool and its own cinema, Sammy had to sleep and live in an ugly cramped unit shared with her mother and four young siblings. Her older brother lived at home but was hardly ever at home. Sky and her mum always offered them money to help them out, especially after Sammy's father left, but they always turned it down. She eventually reached her door, number 38, and knocked lightly, in fear of waking up one of the younger kids. Sammy bounded up the hall, yanked open the door, and hugged her best friend.

"Whoa. Settle down there tiger." said Sky jokingly.

"How are you?" replied Sammy, ignoring the last comment she had made.

"Well, I'm anxious to hear your news!" exclaimed Sky.

"Oh gosh. How did I know you'd say that? I'll tell you later, when we go to bed." Sammy didn't like saying no to her, but for a matter as important as this, she had to be firm.

"No! Tell me now! Or I'll just turn around, and go home." said Sky as she motioned with her finger, a twirl and then legs walking down the path. Sky has a way of making people do whatever she wants.

"UGH! Fine! Come to my room." Said Sammy in an annoyed tone. Sammy slammed the door closed behind her to show her just how angry she was. As they were walking inside her two bedroom house, Sky admired all the insignificant things for the hundredth time. She looked at old collectable things, and lots of bric-brac. She stopped at pictures of Sky with her Dad and the rest of the family. Her eyes filled with tears when she saw a picture of Sammy, Zeke and Sky. _Boy, how times have changed_, she thought to herself. Sammy noticed her glassy eyes and pulled her gently away from the picture before she started crying too. As they walked through the lounge room, which was probably the size of a bathroom, Sky noticed Sammy's mum sitting on the lounge being bombarded by the four younger siblings fighting over who gets to sit next to her.

"Hi Mrs. Fischer." said Sky in a polite voice. Mrs. Fisher didn't talk much since her father left. No-one really knows what happened to him and she was left completely derailed since the event.

"Mmmm. Hi." She replied. Sky was used to it now so she's learnt not to take offence.

"Thanks for letting me stay. It's really kind of you." Sky said, pretending that she was talking to a person that would actually reply.

"That's Ok." She said gruffly. Sammy grabbed Sky's arm and led her through her doorway into her crowded bedroom. Her bedroom consisted of four walls, literally. A small single bed was in the middle with a plain doona on top. She had a small cupboard that contained most of her clothes. She didn't have many and they were all pretty daggy, but that was only because they wouldn't accept any of the money they were offered.

"Sky." That snapped her out of her thinking.

"Hmmm. What? Oh yeah. Please tell me what's wrong Sammy?" Sammy didn't answer. Instead, her eyes filled with tears. "Sammy?" Sammy jumped onto her bed and buried her head into her pillow. She muttered something like:

"I'mpeghenhat." As you can imagine, Sky did not understand a word.

"I'm sorry. You have to speak up. I can't hear a word your saying!" Sammy slowly lifted her head to reveal mascara lines running down her face and her lipstick smudged. She looked like the joker.

"I'm pregnant!"


	4. Issues

_Chapter 4: Issues_

"You're what?" screamed Sky, but all she heard in reply was violent sobbing. "This is bad, this is very bad."

"Not you too?" Sammy always replied inn a whiny voice when she was upset. Sky realised she was only making the situation worse.

"I'm sorry. OK. What are we going to do? Um, we need numbers. Have you got a phone book anywhere in here?" Said Sky as she frantically started scanning the room for something that could help. "Maybe a pregnancy book or something?"

"Sky, there's more. My family is too poor and we just can't afford another mouth to feed. I'm already working full time and so is Mama and... we just can't do it. I have to put it up for adoption." Sammy has always been a drama queen but this was different. Sky decided that she had to be there for her.

"Oh, Sammy. I'm sorry. If this is any consolation, my Mother actually went through this too. Actually, I have an idea!" Sammy sprang up in interest. Her eyes were full of anticipation and she was holding her breath. "My Aunty in North River is actually setting up this thing for people in the same situation as you. They feed the child and teach it and bring it up just as a normal family would. I think you should give it some consideration." Sammy's eyes were quickly filled with tears again as she flopped back onto her bed.

"Sky, North River is like, I don't know, an hour away. And there is no way in hell I could afford to do anything in North River. I appreciate the offer, but I just, I just can't." Sammy quickly started crying again. Sky had to help, this crying was giving her a headache.

"No, no, no. You don't understand. North River is on my way to work anyway and I could just drop it off every morning and then pick it up later. And this is my Aunt, she'd do anything to help out. I'll call it in as a personal favour. You won't have to pay a cent." Replied Sky.

"You'd really do that for me?"

"We've been best friends since grade 2. You really think I'm going to leave you now, I your time of need?" Sky was a bit upset that Sammy couldn't believe her. Sammy was lost for words, and Sky understood her. "Now, what are we going to do about, well, you know. Josh? I know it's emotional and all but you..."

"Sky, no probs, I've already sorted it out. When I found out about bub, it was sort of an unspoken agreement between us that we wouldn't see each other any more. He's said that he's not going to take any responsibility with the baby and I respect that, well, now that you've told me about your Aunt and everything." replied Sammy.

"Oh, OK. Well, Joker, lets go get you cleaned up and we'll watch a movie OK?"

"OK. Sky, I couldn't do this without you. I mean that." And she did.

"I know." She said sarcastically. "Lets try and get through the next term first." Sky grabbed a tissue and dried off her friends tears. After they hugged, they both went and chose a movie and enjoyed the rest of their sleepover.


	5. Double trouble

_Chapter 5- Double trouble_

"Oh. My. Gosh. I can't believe you're going out with Cody Tettorn. Cody Tettorn, Sammy Tettorn. You know how long I've had a crush on him for? Like, ages!" complained Sky.

"Sky, settle down. BTW, you've only had a crush on him for like, 2 weeks."

"Shut up. You can't blame me though, he's like the cutest guy in school. I can't believe he asked you out though. Looks like your luck has changed for the better." It was true though. Cody was the cutest guy in school. Cody had come from Canada two weeks earlier, and had taken an immediate liking to Sammy. Even though Sky was extremely jealous, she couldn't help feel happy for her friend. With all that's going on with her life at the moment, she could use a bit of love. Little did they know, over at the popular table, everything was about to change.

"Cody, just dump her already. She's poor and ugly and... POOR! Have you seen the clothes she wears? They're like, not even fit for a dog. They're probably like 10th hand. I'm sorry, but you have a reputation to uphold." Grace said this as if she was talking about a monster. Grace and Emerson were twins from New York and were forever teasing Sammy. They were incredibly up em' selves and they didn't care about how they made anyone feel. Emerson had a crush on Cody, and Grace had already been out with him.

"Yeah Cody. I know you dated nerds at your other school but this is different. Besides, why go out with someone like her when you could date someone like me?" agreed Emerson.

"I don't know, I like her. She's not that bad. Sure she's poor but you can't judge someone by how much money they have. And no Emerson, I'm not going out with you." replied Cody in a somewhat annoyed toned.

"Dude, she's ugly and poor. Please just dump her. Look. I'll come with you. I wanna see her face! The tears and the begging is the best part about going out with a girl like her!" Cody's mate, Cooper, liked teasing Cody and pressuring him to do things he shouldn't. Now Cody had had enough.

"FINE! I'll do it, as long as you keep teasing me, and no, Emerson, I'm still not going out with you." Cody felt mean saying that, but he was just angry. Cooper dragged Cody over to where Sky and Sammy were sitting. Cody's stomach was suddenly filled with butterflies and he went pale. He started whispering to Cooper.

"Seriously, I don't think I can do this. I like her. I feel like I'm going to be sick." he said in a hushed voice but Sammy interrupted.

"Hey Cody. Is everything OK?" Sammy knew everything wasn't OK and she had to try to be positive and cover up the flaw in her voice that gave away the fact that she knew what was coming.

"Um, yeah. Well, you know how I asked you out before, well, yeah, um, I, I, can we please break up? It's just..."  
"Grace? Yeah I gathered." said Sammy in a timid voice.

"Um, yeah OK. You OK with that?" said Cody in a surprised tone.

"Yeah it's fine" But things weren't and that was obvious by the way she just stormed off. Sammy went right into the girls bathroom and cried. Sky spent all third period trying to get her out of there. She came out between third and fourth period but didn't say a word to anyone. Sky sensed something was up, and not just the fact that the hottest guy in school had just broken up with her.

…

"What time did your Mum say she would pick you up?" said Sky in an annoyed voice. "It's 4 o'clock now and Mum will be getting worried. Are you OK to wait by yourself?"

"Yes it'll be fine. Bye." replied Sammy.

"Oh, OK. Bye." Sammy couldn't help but let a stray tear roll down her cheek as her friend slowly disappeared into the distance.


	6. Friendships down in smoke

_Chapter 6- Friendships down in smoke_

Sammy jumped as she heard the phone ring. It was now 7 and her Mum still wasn't home. This phone call could only mean bad.

"I'll get it!" yelled Sammy.

"Wasn't planing too." replied her brother in sarcasm.

"_Hello?"_

"_Sammy, I'm not coming home."_

"_Why? Mum, we need you."_

"_This is my big chance Sammy, my only chance! Be happy for me you stupid girl."_

"_But what are we going to do? James has turned to smoking Mum. You don't know what it's like. It's horrible. Please don't go."_

"_Sammy, your brother is old enough to take care of you. That's his problem not mine. I have to go. Stop doing this to me. Don't be so clingy. You've got to learn that you can't rely on people."_

"_But Mum..."_

"_Shut up. I have to go. There's some leftover chips in the freezer." _

"_..."_

"_Fine. Cya." _

"_Mu..."_

It was too late. Her Mum had already hung up.

"She's not coming home is she?" asked her brother. Sammy just shook her head. "Well, if it gets too much for you, you know where the lighter is." James got up off the couch and headed upstairs for a shower. His eyes lit up in surprise as he watched from the stairs as his little sister picked up a cigarette.

…

"Sammy! You S.M.O.K.E.D! Why would you do this?" screamed Sky in shock as her friend had subtly tried to tell her what she had done the night before.

"Congratulations! Sky can spell! People around here are pretty stupid but they can spell too." Sammy was really not in the mood for this right now.

"Look, I'm sorry. But this is serious! What if people find out?"

"Looks like they already have." The twins and their little entourage were rapidly approaching, all with a horrible expression on their faces.

"What do you want Grace? Leave my friend alone." yelled Sky.

"Whatev's." she said in disgust as she turned to face Sammy. "Did you get the message?"

"What message? Sammy, what message?" Sky was beginning to get worried.

"It's nothing. Don't worry." replied Sammy.

"Oh, don't worry. It is something alright." snickered Grace. Sammy burst into tears as the girls walked away giggling.

"Sammy, it's..."

"Stop! Just stop! You don't know what it's like! My mothers just abandoned me, you're criticising me for smoking, and everyone hates me! Sky, my life is a mess! Just give it up!" screamed Sammy.

"No Sammy, you don't understand! No-one hates you, well maybe Grace, and maybe Emerson, but Sammy, that's like two people out of a world of 7 billion!"

"JUST STOP!" Sammy screamed as she ran off.


	7. Burning bridges

_Chapter 7- Burning bridges_

"Mum, you don't understand! You can't prevent me from seeing her now! She's smoking and her Mum just left. Please don't do this." Sky screamed at her Mum. Sky was in the process of slowly relaying everything that had happened, in hope that she might be able to help.

"I just knew it. I knew something like this would happen. I cannot have you hanging out with this girl. If she's smoking, who knows what other things she might be taking? No, I have to be firm. You are no longer allowed to see Sammy." replied her Mum.

"Mum, please. She needs me." Sky was getting better and better at begging.

"Sky, Aaaaghh. NO!" screamed her Mum as she ran off. Sky pulled out her phone when she heard it go off, signalling a message.

_Sammy: How about that sleepover this weekend?_

_Sky: Um, I can't. I'm busy this weekend. Sorry._

_Sammy: You said you had nothing planned!?_

_Sky: Well, something popped up._

_Sammy: You told her didn't you. _

_Sky: Told her what?_

_Sammy: Everything._

_Sky: I'm sorry. _

_Sammy: You will be. _

_What was that supposed to mean? _thought Sky to herself. Little did she know, she would soon find out.


	8. Please?

_Chapter 8- Please?_

"Sammy, please. Let me help you." Sky had been pleading with Sammy for quite a while now.

"Sky, drop it. There's nothing you can do" said Sammy in between sobs.

" I've got to go. I'll see you at lunch." But Sky didn't receive an answer. Sky had maths next. It seemed to drag on and on. Instead of paying attention to algebra and trigonometry, she couldn't take her mind off Sammy. Little did she know, Mr Gumner had been calling on her for a little while now.

"Sky, you will not find the answer out the window." bellowed her grump maths teacher.

"Sorry Mr Gumner." replied Sky. The class started laughing. Sky was yearning for the end of class so she could talk to Sammy. Suddenly, the bell went off. Sky packed all her books up and ran out the door, ignoring Mr Gumner calling out her name. She shoved her books in her bag and sprinted out the hall and into the sunlight. She was momentarily blinded but quickly recovered. She set out to search for Sammy but could not find her anywhere. She looked at the Sports hall, at the music room, at the canteen, at the library, and even at the oval. She resorted to asking everyone that passed her whether or not they knew where she was. Finally, she gave up and climbed up the stairs to her favourite spot; on top of the double storey classrooms. She always ate lunch up there when she was alone. But she found that she wasn't the only on up there. She jogged up to the group of students and pushed her way to the middle. She found Cody standing next to her.

"What's going on?" Sky was starting to get worried.

"Um, well, it's... it's Sammy. She's going to jump." replied Cody.

"No, no, Sammy would never do anything like that. No way!" Sky said, in a state of utter disbelief.

"Go take a look for yourself." Cody pointed at the edge of the building. Sky clumsily pushed through the crowd, not even excusing herself for her bad manners. But, sure enough, Sammy was standing on the edge of the building, dangerously teetering over the edge. Her eyes were red and puffy and had obviously been crying. She had bruises all over herself and had cuts on her arms.

"Wha... what are you doing?" Sky felt like hurling, her insides and turned to jelly, she couldn't breathe. "Sammy, get DOWN!" screamed Sky. She started crying and yelling at her.

"You don't understand. No one loves me. Not even you. You want to know what the message read?

_No one loves you. You are not wanted in the world. You are poor and ugly. You don't deserve to live. Cody only dated you to make you feel bad once he dumped you. No one would even notice if you were gone. _

No one loves me Sky! So why bother going on with life." Sammy cried and screamed at the 20 or so kids around her.

"I love you Sammy. Please. Please don't do it." screamed Sky.

"I love you too. I always have. I was forced to dump you. I'm sorry. Please get down" reasoned Cody.

"You're liars! ALL of you are liars! No one loves me! They say life is short, so live it to the full, but for me, it will be even shorter." Sammy jumped. As all the kids ran to stop her, they saw her hit the ground and go limp. Sky crumpled in a heap on the floor and everything went black. Sammy was dead.


End file.
